Religious policies

Akbar’s interest in religion was also personal. He wanted to understand spiritual truth and questions about life and death. His search for knowledge and his need to govern a diverse population helped shape a policy of religious tolerance, although this was not applied without exceptions.

Learning through discussion

Akbar encountered different religious traditions through his family, teachers and court. His mother and his guardian Bairam Khan were Shia Muslims, while his father Humayun was Sunni. His marriages to Hindu Rajput princesses brought him into closer contact with Hindu beliefs. His teacher Abdul Latif encouraged liberal ideas, and the scholar and courtier Abul Fazl helped develop his thinking.

In 1575, Akbar built the Ibadat Khana, or House of Worship, at Fatehpur Sikri. Religious discussions took place there on Friday evenings. At first, he invited Muslim scholars, including the ulema. However, their bitter disagreements, particularly between Sunni and Shia participants, disappointed him. He became less willing to accept that religious scholars necessarily possessed all the answers.

Akbar widened the discussions to include representatives of other beliefs, including Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians and Christians. This allowed him to compare explanations rather than rely on a single religious authority. The first Jesuit Christian mission from Goa arrived at Fatehpur Sikri in 1580. Akbar discussed Christianity with the priests and showed respect for the Bible they presented to him, but he did not convert to Christianity.

Making religious knowledge accessible

Discussion was not Akbar’s only way of learning. He sponsored translations of religious works into Persian, the language used in Mughal government and court culture. Hindu texts translated from Sanskrit included the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita.

Translation made these ideas accessible to Persian-speaking readers who could not read Sanskrit. It therefore supported Akbar’s own search for understanding and helped people at court learn about traditions different from their own. His curiosity was not simply an interest in collecting books: it encouraged exchange between religious communities.

Turning tolerance into practical policies

Akbar’s approach became associated with sulh-i-kul, meaning ‘universal peace’. This aimed at peaceful relations between religious communities rather than privileging one community at the expense of all others.

Several policies gave this principle practical meaning:

• Ending discriminatory taxes: Akbar abolished jizya, a tax on non-Muslim subjects, and Hindu pilgrimage taxes. These changes removed financial burdens connected to religious identity or worship.
• Allowing worship: Hindus could practise their religion without being forced to convert. Hindu temples could be repaired and new ones built.
• Including Hindus in imperial service: Hindus received important civil and military positions. Alongside marriage alliances with Rajput families, this helped connect influential Hindu groups to Mughal rule.
• Supporting different religious institutions: Akbar gave land or grants to institutions belonging to different faiths, including Hindu and Jain establishments.
• Respecting religious practices: He prohibited cow slaughter, respecting Hindu beliefs about cows. Jain teachers also influenced restrictions on killing animals on certain days.

These measures could make subjects feel more secure and encourage them to support the emperor. Religious inclusion also helped officials of different faiths work together. Tolerance thus served a political purpose as well as reflecting Akbar’s personal convictions.

Din-i-Ilahi: bringing teachings together

In 1582, Akbar introduced Din-i-Ilahi, or the ‘Divine Faith’. His discussions had encouraged him to believe that truth and goodness could be found in different religions, rather than belonging exclusively to one.

Din-i-Ilahi attempted to combine selected teachings into a shared religious and ethical approach. It encouraged charity and sparing animal life. It had no priesthood or holy scripture, making it different from the established religions Akbar had studied.

It is important to distinguish this experiment from sulh-i-kul. Sulh-i-kul concerned how religious communities should be treated; Din-i-Ilahi attempted to bring religious teachings together. Din-i-Ilahi did not survive Akbar’s death, whereas his wider policies of tolerance helped strengthen cooperation within the empire.

The limits of Akbar’s tolerance

Akbar’s policies did not mean that religion ceased to divide people or that his rule was always tolerant. Some orthodox Muslim scholars opposed his religious ideas. Moreover, in 1567, he declared the war against the Hindu kingdom of Mewar a jihad, or religiously justified war.

His reign therefore combined broad religious inclusion with exceptions linked to conquest and imperial power. The strongest explanation of his policies recognises both his genuine search for knowledge and the political advantages of gaining support across a religiously diverse empire.